


Home Is What You Make of It

by Azeran



Series: Camp Camp [7]
Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Established Gwenvid, F/M, Fluff, Mentions of Anxiety, gwenvid - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-24
Updated: 2019-06-24
Packaged: 2020-05-18 20:28:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19342042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Azeran/pseuds/Azeran
Summary: A tie in to “Home is a Blanket of Stars.” Gwen and David finally get started on moving in together. It goes a little differently than planned, because David just loves his surprises.





	Home Is What You Make of It

**Author's Note:**

> This is a direct tie in to “Home is a Blanket of Stars.” I won’t say you have to read that one to enjoy this story, but it’d definitely make things easier!

“Well? What do you think?”

What did she think? Gwen couldn’t even BREATHE. Thinking was way beyond her capabilities right now. “David…this isn’t your apartment.” 

“Nope! It’s not.” David shut the car door behind her and took one of her suitcases, watching her gawk at the cottage style brick house nestled behind a picket fence. It was idealyc, picturesque, the bricks painted an inviting golden honey color that contrasted beautifully with the white trim and front door. Gwen’s heart stuttered in her chest just looking at it. It was perfect, colorful but charming. So utterly David. 

“It’s like something out of a damn magazine!” Sucking in a deep, shaky breath, Gwen turned to look at the redhead. He was practically vibrating with repressed energy, looking between her and the home like a kid at the candy store, eager to get their sugary fix. “I swear to god, if you bought a house and didn’t tell me…”

“Gwen, of course not! I would never! I don’t keep secrets from you—well, certainly not ones that life changing!” With a soothing smile David lead her through the small wooden gate and into a yard that was impossibly green. Gwen stalled dead in her tracks, blankly taking in the trimmed grass. 

What the fuck was this place? Better yet, what exactly had she gotten herself into?? Agreeing to move in with David was crazy enough, but this was beyond insane. She’d signed up to share his average sized apartment! This wasn’t an apartment dammit! 

“Fuck,” Gwen whispered to herself. She was strongly questioning her life choices right now. 

Maybe she stood there for too long, too silently, because a soft squeeze to her fingers pulled her back to reality. “Ahh...Gwen? Are you ok? We can take a minute, if you need it.”

Uhuh. A minute. She needed a MILLENNIA. “David. I’m gonna need you to tell me what’s going. Right. NOW. Because I’m this close to having a panic attack, and that’ll ruin whatever batshit surprise you have planned.”

“Oh! No, don’t panic! It’s ok Gwen, I promise.” David dropped her suitcase and hastily clasped Gwen’s face between his hands, guiding her gaze back to his own. “I probably should’ve told you about all this before we got here, but I really wanted it to be a secret until I could show you! Not my best idea, I guess.” 

“Yeaaah. What exactly gave it away?? The crippling anxiety?” Gwen rasped. 

“Like I said. Not my best idea.” Sighing, he swept his right thumb down the slope of her throat, back and forth and back again until Gwen’s breathing took on a slower rhythm, subconsciously following the beat. “There we go,” David hummed. “Now, try to keep it like that, alright? I have something important to tell you, and I can’t exactly do that if you’re passed out on the ground!” 

The ground looked pretty damn inviting, but Gwen kept that to herself. “Hurry it up. You’re freaking me out.”

“I’m sorry about that. Really, I am! It’s my fault. I know how you get sometimes, but I still thought…” David cut himself off, taking a firm grip on the back of her neck. “Listen to me. I didn’t buy a house. I promise you. I would absolutely never do something that serious without consulting you first. We’re a team Gwen, and I value your opinion! Which is why I brought you here.” 

“Oh god.” Gwen swallowed, trying to focus on his steady hand cupping her nape. Anything but the drowning emotions consuming her. “You’re GOING to buy a house, and you want my help!”

“No! No one’s buying anything.” David smiled. It was so easy to focus on that, and not the looming monster of potential commitment behind him. “But it could be ours, if you want.”

“.......what.” Breathe Gwen, breathe. She forced air out through her nose, wrapping her fingers around David’s wrists. “You just said-!”

Chuckling filled her ears, smothering her anxiety a little. Only a little. “Gwen, I understand you’re curious, but please, let me explain? I don’t want you jumping to conclusions about all this.” 

“Too late for that. Consider this conclusions jumped.”

David’s smile shifted, adopting the friendly, yet stern attitude he sometimes took with the campers. On a normal day, that’d do all sorts of things to Gwen’s lady parts. “If that’s the case, why don’t you let me do the talking for now, hm? I’ll say my piece, and when I’m done, you can ask me all the questions you want!” David kissed her brow, his lips warm and grounding against her skin. “I need you to stay calm though. Can you do that for me?”

Fuck. Why couldn’t he act like that more often? He rarely showed off his authoritative side. “Yup. Totally.” Gwen clung to him like a life raft, slowly nodding her head. Yes. She could do this. She had to think rationally, listen to David. This wasn’t camp, and he had things under control. Clearly. “Just—make it snappy. I’m balancing a very thin line here David.”

“I know. And you’re handling it so well.” 

Applying gentle pressure to her neck, David guided her to the ground. It took some maneuvering, but he got her to sit between his legs, Gwen’s spine flush against his chest. She was facing the house, getting a full closeup of the polished windows. Her reflection was distorted in them, but even in the glass she could see her concern, the conflicting affection for David and undeniable urge to throttle him senseless. Well, at least that much was familiar. 

“Don’t focus on it,” David’s lips tickled the spot behind her ear, and Gwen jumped. “First, what you’ve got to understand is that whatever you decide, I’ll be fine with it! All I want is to be with you Gwen. The where doesn’t really matter all that much. But,” David paused, drifting his mouth lower. Gwen wanted to melt into him, let her bones turn to jello. “I’m hoping your pragmatic side will win out here.”

“Not making any sense,” Gwen mumbled, earning a shush in response. 

“Let me talk please.” He waited a few seconds, and when she huffed and kept quiet David continued. “This used to be my parent’s house, back before they retired. But then they decided to move to Canada a few years ago. My dad has family there, and I think they wanted some privacy. It is their golden years, after all!” David rested his chin on her shoulder, scrawny arms wrapping around her waist; Gwen could all but feel the smile radiating off him. “The house has been empty ever since. I remember being raised here, spending summers walking through the woods, playing adventurer. It has a lot of fond memories for me.”

She could imagine. David was the type to cling to stuff like that. Gwen’s relationship with her parents was—strained, if you wanted to be nice about it. They ignored her, and Gwen pretended they didn’t exist. A perfect arrangement. “That’s cute and all David. Seriously. Still doesn’t explain anything.” 

“I’m getting there Gwen. Stop trying to rush me. I might forget something important.” His hold on her tightened; a warning, though it wasn’t rough. David was never rough with her. Lovingly exasperated, sure, but always sweet. Even when he was taking control of the moment and keeping her stable.

Shit. Gwen sometimes forgot how much she loved him. “Sorry. Forgot.” 

“I’m sure.” One last squeeze, then David’s arms slackened, giving Gwen room to slump better against him. “Listen to me. My parents called a few weeks ago, and they had an offer for me. Well, for us. They knew you were supposed to move in soon, and they were concerned about us sharing such a small apartment. It’s nowhere near as small as yours, of course, but we still would’ve been a little cramped. You have a lot of books,” David teased. “But there’s plenty of space in a house. And since this one’s been sitting empty for so long, they offered to let us have it! It’s been paid off for years. We’d only be responsible for property tax.”

Oh. OH. That wasn’t quite as much commitment as buying a home upfront. Still a lot though. “You—your parents are giving us a house?” Gwen squeaked, fisting the grass. It was better than tearing at her own hair. “Wha-why?! They don’t even know me!” 

“Don’t be silly Gwen! Of course they do. We’ve only been CBFL’s forever,” David beamed. “I've been telling them all about you since the day we met! And they’re so excited to meet you, when they get a chance. I told them it’d probably be a while though. I didn’t want to pressure you with too much, too soon.”

“Thanks…” he was endlessly thoughtful. Meeting David’s parents might send Gwen over the brink, in terms of what she could handle. “So they’re letting us have this house. Their house,” Gwen stressed, looking up at the brick and chipper white shutters. “And all we have to do is pay property taxes?”

“Yup! Plus the utilities, and general upkeep. They’re basically letting us rent to own, without the renting part,” David hummed. “It’s not that expensive either, when you compare it to having an apartment. We’ll save a small fortune living here!” 

Money. There was a language Gwen understood. Pragmatically, she could agree with all of David’s points. Not paying rent meant they’d have a lot of spare money to work with. They’d never have to worry about late bills, or running out of food. It meant a solid, comfortable living, if still a little tight. Gwen could work with that. She’d done with less half her life. 

Damn shame her stupid fucking mind couldn’t seem to grasp the rationale. 

“It’s a lot David.” Feeling terrible, Gwen curled into herself. The loss of bodily contact hurt a lot more than she was willing to admit, and still she kept away, fearing David’s response. “I mean, it’s not super different than what we had planned. It’s easier, in a lot of ways.” 

“But...you’re worried.” Hesitating, David shifted his weight on the grass so he could kneel in front of her. A pale finger curled under her chin, lifting her face up. “That’s ok you know. If you’re scared. I get that it’s a big change.” Ignoring her grimace, he pecked her on the lips. “Whatever you decide Gwen, I’ll support your decision. If you’re uncomfortable with the idea of sharing a house together, then we’ll stick with the original plan. My apartment isn’t going anywhere, after all. We can leave right now and have you unpacked by dinner time!”

It couldn’t be that easy. Then again, it was David. In his eyes, of course it could. “David, c’mon. Don’t even. I can tell you want this. There’s no way you’d be ok giving up all this! It’s your childhood home,” Gwen argued. “And how will your parents feel if you up and turn down their oh so generous offer? Won’t they be mad??”

David’s brow furrowed. “Why would they be mad? Even if we said no, my parents would understand. It’s a lot, like you said. Sharing a cabin at camp isn’t exactly the same as living together. While I have every faith that we can handle anything that happens, the responsibility of renting an apartment compared to taking care of a house is still pretty different!” 

“Yeah,” Gwen flushed. “Different.” Fuck, but it wasn’t. Not logically. With all the money they’d be saving on rent, they could handle any household expenses that might come up. And god, there was just a part of her that wanted to throw herself at David and kiss him senseless, because this was an incredible opportunity. How often did a beautiful house fall into your lap, with no strings attached? Gwen needed to calm down and focus on the good, not the bad. Was she going to let her fear of commitment ruin something that could be so good for her and David? Was she that selfish?

“Gwen?” David cupped her cheek, and Gwen shuddered at the touch, keening softly under her breath. “Gwen. You’re overthinking it. It’s a simple choice. I love you, and all I want is to see you smile. Whether we’re back at camp, sharing an apartment, or living here, it doesn’t matter. We’ll be together. That’s enough for me.” 

She believed him. It was hard not to, when David was the most genuine person she’d ever known. Gwen couldn’t deny that. As long as they’d been friends, David always considered her feelings. Sometimes too much. How much did he want this, she wondered, to have kept it a secret until now. David had orchestrated this entire surprise, banking on the financials and logic to overwhelm her destructive anxiety. Yet he’d give it all up at her say so. Fuck. It was just like him, the prick. 

“You actually mean all that,” Gwen husked, leaning into David’s hand. “If we gave this up, you’d still be happy—with me?”

“Gwen, you ARE my happiness. Wherever we go, as long as we’re together I’ll be fine. All I want is you,” David blushed, caressing the slope of her cheekbone with his thumb. “My apartment is paid up for the month, and my landlord is a very nice person! I explained that I could be moving out, or I could be bringing someone home permanently. She was perfectly happy to wait until the end of the month for my decision. Our decision. So if that’s what you want, we can leave at any point. Just say the word.”

It was tempting. For all her responsibilities back at the camp, Gwen wouldn’t go so far as to say she had her life together. Things had only started going right with David’s help and support. With him, Gwen was happier than she’d been in years. Did she want to risk everything they had together for something that might not even work out? 

Looking at David, who was smiling brighter than the sun, Gwen didn’t need to think about it. Not really. No matter how much a little piece inside of her was shrieking with terror at the idea of this much responsibility weighing on her shoulders, she wanted it. They deserved this, after all the shit life had thrown at them. Almost losing the camp more times than she could count, being consistently broke; the whole situation with Camp Corp. Finally, something good and easy had come their way. She’d have to be a real idiot to pass it up. 

“......I’m not going to say yes. Not yet.” Gwen grasped a handful of red hair and yanked David into a kiss, grinning against his soft lips. “You have to show me inside first. I’ve gotta see where my bookshelves are gonna go. And if you don’t have a prime spot picked out for the couch, I’ll be very disappointed. You promised me a home for my blanket, remember?”

Holy shit, she didn’t think David was capable of smiling any wider than he already was. She was wrong. “Oh Gwen!!” Showing off a mouthful of pearly whites, David scooped her up in his arms and spun around, dancing across the yard like it was some ballroom. “You’ll love it, I promise! There’s a big living room, and a bedroom I think would work perfectly as an office! We can share the master. And there’s a good sized kitchen too. I’m not sure how much we’ll use it, since we don’t exactly cook that much, but maybe it’ll be an opportunity to learn together!” 

Jesus, the whiplash. Gwen struggled to keep up with the conversation, while her chest ached with affection for the big doofus holding her. He was adorable. “Calm down David, geez. One thing at a time! I’m sure you’ve got all kinds of things planned, but can we just….go inside? Look around first?” Take things slow, is what she didn’t say. David still seemed to get the picture. 

“Whatever you want Gwen.” He carefully set her down on her own two feet, replacing her with the suitcases they’d dropped before, all while digging something out of his right pocket. “Here.” David held out a small silver key on a basic green keychain. “It should be pretty clean inside. My parents have someone come once every few weeks to take care of everything. We can look around, pace ourselves. See if anything needs to be done.”

“And then?” Gwen fingered the keychain, watching the silver key glint in the sunlight. 

David shrugged. “Then, you decide. We can stay, go, get lunch, whatever! We have all day Gwen. We’re not in a rush.”

It was impossible to love David so much, and yet here they were. And goddammit, love him she did. “...ok.” Gwen took the key with a slow grin. She was still nervous, more than she’d ever let him know, but it was time to woman up and get her shit in gear. This was their life she was investing in! Anxiety be damned, Gwen was going to fight through it and embrace change. She—they, had fucking earned it. 

“You win David.” Gwen grabbed him by the wrist, pulling him towards the pretty house that was their future. “C’mon already. Let’s go check out our new home!”


End file.
